Ranfels Castle

The origins of Ranfels Castle are obscure, with the Counts of Formbach or Neuburg being presumed as possible builders. In 1207, the complex was owned by the Bishops of Passau, who enfeoffed it to the Nobles of Hals in 1243. These, in turn, granted the lordship as a sub-fief, and between 1259 and 1262, the brothers Albertus and Fridericus de Ranvels lived there. After the extinction of the Hals family in 1375, Ranfels passed to the Landgraves of Leuchtenberg. In 1417, Etzel I. of Ortenburg acquired the castle, but sold it in 1438 to Duke Heinrich of Lower Bavaria. During the Landshut War of Succession, the castle was destroyed but subsequently rebuilt. In 1517, Knight Johann von Dachsberg zu Asbach took over the complex, established a castle chaplaincy with a chapel in 1518, and carried out renovations until 1520.